Distributor cover



Patented Aug. 4, 1925.

"UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST C. WILCOX, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE CONNECTICUT TELEPHONE & ELECTRIC COMPANY, INCORPORATED, F MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT,

A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

ms'rmnuron covnn.

Application filed September 12, 1923. Serial No. 662,204.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, ERNEST C. WILCOX, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Meriden, Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Distributor Cover, of which the following is a specification.

' My invention relates to an igniter of the type disclosed in my co-pending application,

Serial No. 662,202, filed September 12, 1923,

and this application is directed more specifically to a distributor cover or cap.

It is an object ofthe invention to provide a novel form of distributor cover, which will 5 be cheap to manufacture and serviceable in use.

It is a further object to provide a distributor cover with novel means for receiving a holding member for securing the distributor cover in place.

It-is a further object to provide a distributor cover having means thereon for rotating the same.

Other objects will be apparent as the specification proceeds.

In the drawings, which show for illustrative purposes only a preferred form of my invention Fig. 1 is a side view of an igniter, parts being shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the distributor cover shown in Fig. 1, a part being broken away;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the distributor cover;

Fig. 4 is an inside or bottom plan view thereof. 7

I The igniter, as partially shown herein, is particularly, though not exclusively, adapted for application to the gear case cover of an internal combustion engine, directly in line with the engine cam shaft, that is to say, the igniter preferably is in such -a position on the engine that the main 'cam shaft of the engine also forms the cam shaft for the igniter.

In said drawings, 5 indicates a part of th gear case cover of an engine and may be termed, in connection with the igniter, a base plate. 6 indicates the usual horizontal cam shaft of an internal combustion engine, extending through the late 5. A breaker plate 7 may be mounte in a suitable bearing or guide 7 on the base plate 5. As is .breaker plate. A distributor cover or cap 11 houses the breaker and distributor mechanism, and in the present disclosure the lower edge of the housing has a recess 12 which fits on or seats upon the breaker plate 7. The edge of the cover is cut away or recessed at 13, for the reception of the extension arm 10 on the breaker plate. The

extension 10 standing in the notch or recess 1 13 acts as a combined conductor and positioning key to cause the breaker plate and distributor cover to rotate together.

The distributor cover is of peculiar form. The lower or base portion is preferably substantially cylindrical, as indicated at 14. At one side the cylindrical portion extends higher than at the other side, as is indicated at 15. The cover is conical or tapers upwardly at 16 for a portion of its circumference, whereas, for the remainder of the circumference, the cover is flat, as indi cated at 17. The portions connecting the flat and tapered portions are preferably vertical, as indicated at 1818. diate or upper cylindrical part 19, of smaller diameter, extends from the lower portion and, in the form shown, the extreme upper end is of still smaller diameter, as is indi-- cated at 20. The peculiar contour of the cover serves a twofold purpose. In the first place, the enlarged cylindrical portion of the base provides a suitable internal space for the fixed and movable contacts, and the wall may be cut away, as at 21, to form an inspect-ion window, normally closed by a suitable cover 22, which may or may not be An intermeof transparent material suitably held in place as by spring fingers so as to be readily removable. In the second place, the restricted intermediate and upper portion provides proper clearance for a fan belt (not shown), which is usually provided on in- At the top of the intermediate portion of the distributor cover are distributor terminals 2323, provided for connection to the wire cables leading to the spark plugs of an internal combustion engine. These distributor terminals, as will be readily un derstood by those skilled in the art, are elec trically connected to suitable metallic plates or blocks 2 124 on the, inside of the dis: tributor cover, and the distributor head 9, during the rotation of the shaft 6, moves over these plates or blocks 24-24.

In the upper portion of the cover is a center contact or terminal 25, as is usual in a distributor. In the present form the center contact 25 is held in a metallic sleeve 26,

embedded in the material of the cover, anda spring 27 serves to urge the contact 25 inwardly into engagen'ient with the metallic strip on the distributor head 9. In the present form the sleeve 26 has a screw 28, extending to the outside of the cover, about which the wire or wire terminal may be.

placed. A button 29 of insulating material in the preferred form has a metallic sleeve 30 embedded therein, and this sleeve is threaded to receive the screw 28 and serves to bind the wire to the center contact terminal. The insulating but-ton is preferably serrated at the edge 31, and the upperside of the button is preferably provided with means, such as the recess or depression 32, for receiving a corresponding knob or projection on a spring or other member 33 for holding the distributor cover and associated parts in place. It will be seen that, by means of the spring or member 33, the cover, distributor head and the breaker plate may all be held in place.

At a point preferably upon the flat top 17 of the cylindrical portion of the cover there is provided an arm 34:, which may be secured to the cover in any suitable manner, as by means of a screw 35. The outer end of the arm 34 may have a sleeve 36 thereon, for the reception of a suitable pin on the linkage connected to the usual spark lever of an internal combustion engine. It will be seen that when the distributor cover is moved by means of the lever 34, the breaker plate, through the medium of the arm 10,

will be rotated so as to advance or retard the spark.

While I have disclosed a preferred form of my invention, I do not wish to be strictly limlted thereto, since changes may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an igniter, a base plate, a breaker plate mounted thereon, a shaft extending through said breaker plate, a distributor head mounted thereon, a distributor cover tion, a center terminal embedded in said cap in the upper end thereof, and means above said center terminal'for receiving a holding member for securing said distributor cover in place.

3. As an article of manufacture, a distributor cover including a cap of insulating material, distributor terminals annularly arranged therein, a center contact, a button of insulating material, and a screw in said button and engaging said center contact for clamping a wire terminal to said center contact, said button having a part thereof for reception of a clamping member for holding said cover in place.

4. As an article of manufacture, a distributor cover including a cap of insulating ma terial, a center contact in said cover, a button ofinsulating material coacting with said center contact for securing a wire terminal thereto, said button of insulating material having means for receiving a member for holding said distributor cover in place.

5. As an article of manufacture, a distrib- I utor cover including a cap of insulating material, a center contact in said cap, a metallic screw electrically connected to said center terminal, a button of insulating material having a metallic insert therein for receiving said screw and serving to bind a wire terminal to the center contact, said button of insulating material having means for receiving a member for holding said -distributor cover in place.

6. As an article of manufacture, a distributor cover including a cap formed of insulating material and having an enlarged lower base portion and a smaller upper portion, distributor terminals seated in said smaller upper portion, a center contact terminal, and means above said center contact terminal for receiving a member for holding the distributor cover in place, the

lower edge of said cap having a clearance notch therein, open at the lower edge, to permit the passage therethrough of a combined positioning key and electrical conductor.

7 As an article of manufacture, a distributor cover including a cap formed of insulating material and having an enlarged lower base portion, a smaller intermediate portion and a still smallertop portion, distributor terminals seated in said intermediate portion, a center contact terminal in b said top portion, and means above said top portion for receiving a member for holding said distributor cover in place.

8. In an igniter, a base plate having a bearing surface thereon, a breaker plate mounted on said bearing surface, fixed and movable contacts on said breaker plate, one of said contacts having a rigid arm extending beyond the periphery of said breaker 'plate and plate, a distributor cover bearing on said reaker plate and being rotatably positioned by means of said arm on said breaker plate, a cam shaft extending through said base through said breaker late and having a breaker cam thereon, a istributor head on said shaft, and means for moving said distributor cover and breaker plate for advancing and retarding the spark.

ERNEST o. WILcoX. 

